In Search of the Lost Feminine: Decoding the Myths That Radically Reshaped Civilization

by Craig S. Barnes

Here, for the first time, an author weaves together threads that explain the mysterious disappearance of ancient cultures in which women and the environment were at the center, a loss that has dramatically influenced 3,500 years of Western history.

Genres: History, Feminism, Nonfiction, Mythology

304 pages, Paperback

First published May 15, 2006

Reviews

[Allison Hurd · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was initially put off from this by the foreword, which focuses on why a man would become interested in reclaiming the feminine (because he was a lawyer defending a group of women in a wage dispute) how unqualified for this topic he was (unfinished PhD in politics and several years as a litigator) followed by a bunch of very startling assumptions about what the feminine is. To be feminine is to be peaceful, at one with the earth, in tune with growing things, to enjoy beauty and create it. So he says.

I almost gave up there. A bit much to be told by a dude without a degree in anything related to women or even subjugation what it is that defines womanhood, and the implication that he was doing "new" research on where women are throughout the last 3400 years of history was ludicrous to the point of satire.

The Minoan exploration was feeble, and seems to directly contradict itself. He discusses symbols as having meaning outside of themselves, some connective tissue of some sort, and later discusses stories, but apparently not in Minos. In Minos, it's IMPOSSIBLE that what art was depicting was stories, it must have just been about the divinity of the feminine.

As we get closer to the rise of the Greeks, the scholarship gets much more solid, and begins to tread more familiar ground. Indeed, as a resource for a quick overview of art history and the significance in stories (visual and verbal) to promote patriarchy, it's not half bad. From then on it becomes much more cogent, the assumptions much more supported by the work of other scholars, and is, in general, a good synopsis of prominent theories in the fields of related academics like history, sociology, psychology, anthropology, and literature.

My frustrations, though, remain. As a legal scholar and an academic, he knows better than to assume anything. This sort of laziness is not helpful to demonstrating the causal link between historical erasure and present day struggles, and demonstrates to me that the author has not confronted some of his own biases honestly. I am hopeful that since this book was written, he has wrestled with this more.

[Joseph Carrabis · Rating 2 out of 5]

What an interesting, intriguing book. I couldn't help but hear a petulant little child shouting "See? I told you so!" just about every other page. When you learn the author's reasons for writing this book, that sentiment gets reinforced greatly.
Do I believe the author makes his case? Meh. Much of what he writes about is borderline old news. Does he put old data together in new ways? Again, Meh. Depends on whom you studied with and how willing you were to think independently. Did I learn anything? Meh^3. I made one note of a new take on something. One note in 300 pages doesn't endear me to this book. It might in another book but, as I wrote above, I kept hearing this whiny kid shouting that he was right and the rest of whomever was wrong. It got tiring after a while.
On a more academic take, the author makes too many errors (or his copyeditors and technical editors suck), there's way too much conjecture/hypothesis/assumptions offered as fact, no where near enough evidence for many of the claims (perhaps because this is more a popsci book than anything else, although I wouldn't quite qualify it as "popular science"). I could see using this book to teach debate, though, as in "Debate the merits of the argument on page ...".
Is this a worthwhile book for people without anthro/archeo/cultural/linguistics backgrounds? Yeah, I think they'd enjoy it. I could see this book in a 101-style survey course, not much more. People with more background might enjoy it as a connect-the-dots-in-a-weird-way study.
My biggest challenge with the book is the author's insistence that he's providing new information or at least repackaging existing information. Not quite. Maybe he's bringing it to a new audience (a worthwhile activity, definitely).
Unfortunately it left me more amused than intrigued, probably not the author's intent.

[Kathleen · Rating 4 out of 5]

I am thoroughly impressed and fascinated with the subject matter. If you've ever wondered about the beginning of the patriarchy, how women became property with the institution of marriage, and why we have the double standard between men and women, you'll be as fascinated with this book as I am.

[Beth · Rating 3 out of 5]

I keep thinking all sorts of things as I read this and realized I should be writing them down because I'm not sure I'll remember all of them if I wait until I'm finished.

I should preface this by saying that I double-majored in History and Classics and took my share of Women's Studies classes including, of course, "Women in Antiquity" and "Women and Religion".

While I am thrilled that this book is so accessible in its discussion of how mythology subjugated the concepts of women's wisdom, etc., there are some things that have bothered me about his interpretations. I'm marking these thoughts as a spoiler not so much because they might spoil this book as that they might contain spoilers of the literature that Barnes is analyzing.

What first caught my attention was his discussion of The Iliad as though it were history. The Iliad is not, as a whole, history. There are sections such as the Catalog of Ships that historians believe may be factual, but overall, The Iliad is a story. The fact that it tells the tale of this ten-year siege of Troy does not mean there was ever a ten-year siege of Troy. Archaeology shows that Troy was sacked multiple times. There is an ancient Greek convention of saying X went on for 9 years and then in the 10th year it was concluded. It's a way of saying something went on for a while, not that it actually took ten years. So his argument that historically, Troy was besieged for ten years doesn't hold up.

Of course, what has really annoyed me is how he keeps going back and forth on what is myth and what is truth. I feel like he tries to have it both ways. For example, in his discussion of The Iliad, he both describes it as being mythological but then cites it as factual history.

I also feel like he doesn't fully grasp the story of Medea. I know this is a story that disturbs most of us today, and when I was a student, it bothered me, too. Most people struggle with understanding just why it is that Medea kills her children, and the normal modern understanding is that she does it out of spite, to torture Jason. This is the reading that Barnes seems to be using. When I was a student, I rewrote it as though it had been written by a woman and presented a staged reading of it as symposium. I changed that disturbing ending, rewrote it so that Medea did not kill the children. Instead she took them with her when she fled, so that to Jason they would be as good as dead. At the symposium, one of my professors asked the pointed question of "What would become of Medea's sons if she hadn't killed them? What life was available to them?" His point was that Jason's children by the civilized Greek Creusa would be his legitimate heirs, not his sons by the barbarian witch Medea. They would have no life under the patriarchy that the myth of Jason and Medea is helping to legitimize. It was in killing her children that she saved them.

There is also a part of The Odyssey that I wish Barnes had discussed: what Odysseus has been told to do to finally appease Poseidon -- take his oar over his shoulder and walk inland until someone asks him why he's walking with a winnowing fan over his shoulder and there he is to plant his oar. It's a swords-to-plowshares action, giving up his warships to settle down and plant. The epic ends before he actually does this, but I do wish Barnes had addressed how this command fits into his interpretation of the rest of the epic.

And I absolutely must point out that the only reason the Parthenon "gleams white" today is because the paint has worn away and not as some symbol of virginity. The Ancient Greeks would have scoffed at our plain marble buildings and statues. Their buildings, including the Parthenon, were brightly painted. (On a side note, I highly recommend NOVA's episode "The Secrets of the Parthenon" for a full discussion of how the Parthenon's imperfections make it so visually perfect.)

I think overall what keeps catching my attention is Barnes's lack of nuance. Perhaps the book would be better read slowly, over the course of a semester, with plenty of in-class discussion, or as part of a book group than the way I am reading it (quickly for leisure). I suspect that would make the thesis feel less heavy-handed.

I did feel that once Barnes moves into the realm of Christianity, he is writing on a topic with which he is more familiar, and I didn't find as much that I felt needed further discussion. And if you read nothing more than the last section, it is worthwhile. His "closing arguments" are where this book really shines.

I am pleased that the book has been written. I wouldn't have been surprised for it to have been on the reading list for both of my aforementioned Women's Studies courses had it been written when I was in college. I like that Barnes is addressing how myths were created to uphold the patriarchy. I just think this book merits discussion in addition to reading.

[Robert Zoltan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Nothing less than a revelation about ourselves and our culture. Should be required reading in schools.

[Adrien Aster · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book changed my life. Barnes' scholarship put Western cultural narratives into an entirely new perspective. I've never been attracted by the "classics" before, but his take on ancient stories like the Iliad and the Odyssey as being patriarchal propaganda makes all kinds of sense.

I would highly recommend this book for those curious about the origins of oppression in Western culture, and for a fascinating, not-too-common take on Western history and prehistory.

[Heather · Rating 2 out of 5]

I love the concept and the thesis, but good lord his scholarship is so damn shoddy. His analysis is on par with the poorly thought out barely researched crap I wrote in my first year of university. He has some neat ideas, but he's a complete amateur. Also, I am thoroughly sick of books that claim to delve into the origin of any concept, and then focus primarily on the greeks (and minoans in this case, some credit there). There are far older cultures literally everywhere on the planet that would be far more interesting to analyze than those johnny-come-latelies.

[HeatherT Taylor · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book wanders through ancient history and traces the social changes that contributed to our current culture of misogyny. Each chapter is brief but packed with information. The author did a great job of providing a lot of information but presenting it in an interesting way.

[Karen Floyd · Rating 5 out of 5]

Intriguing and enlightening look at how a matrilineal, earth-centered, peaceful society was conquered by violent Greek patriarchal invaders. Speculative, as all very early history must be, but the research seems solid.

[Sherry · Rating 4 out of 5]

I am not very far into this book yet, but so far it is a fascinating read. The book is well researched and has some very interesting ideas that are stretching my thinking of the world. If you are into decoding the past this is a recommended read.

[R.S. Kellogg · Rating 5 out of 5]

I picked this book up at my local library where it was sitting out as a book suggestion during Women's History month. I suspect I will continue to think about the contents for quite some time. I really enjoyed the whole thing, especially the decoding of Greek mythology.

[Barbara · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent! He makes many of the same arguments I've made, but he goes much further than I did and supports his points very well.

[Foggygirl · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very interesting and illuminating read, although the way the page was laid out was very distracting.

[Allison · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book opened my mind and changed my life. I can never look at literature, film, television, government, nor especially religion the same way again.